Golf practice mats are used by golfers to practice their swings. Many forms of practice mats are available. In general a golf practice mat includes a surface on which a ball can be placed (“strike section”). Some mats also are extended to include a place for a golfer to stand (“stance section”). The surface generally is formed to be durable to withstand repeated club strikes and often is formed to simulate a natural ground surface such as short or long grass.
Dimensionally, the mat is usually square or rectangular in shape, perhaps about five feet by five feet, in order to freely accommodate the user while assuming a practice position standing on the mat. The strike section and the stance section are usually permanently connected together. Due to this permanent connection and the rectangular or square shape of conventional golf mats, the ability to flexibly interconnect a series of golf mats and to customize the configuration of one or a series of golf mats is limited. This is particularly troublesome in driving ranges that seek to have the golf practice mats set up in a non-linear, for example curved, manner. In some practice facilities it is necessary to have the golf practice mats arranged along a curved hitting area so that the balls hit therefrom tend to land in a centralized collection area.